1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods for apportioning usage of a utility in a multi-unit building. More particularly, embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods for apportioning usage of a utility in a multi-unit building by monitoring usage in each unit and correlating the monitoring data with the total multi-unit building usage.
2. Description of Related Art
It is often inconvenient to individually meter utility usage in a multi-unit building such as an apartment building or a condominium. In many multi-unit buildings the main utility supply line is metered for the building as a whole. Usage is then arbitrarily apportioned to the units (e.g. by unit size or number of occupants) since individual metering is not provided for each unit. For example, in the case of water installations, it is typical for older buildings to employ vertical feed lines, with a single line supplying a plurality of vertically aligned water fixtures (e.g. sinks and toilets) across multiple units. In this case, each unit may have multiple pairs of supply lines feeding the various water fixtures in the unit, and each supply line may feed water fixtures in many units. Accordingly, it may be difficult and inconvenient to meter each unit individually.